Strand suction arrangement for carding engines



H. BERBERICH Oct. 28, 1958 STRAND SUCTION ARRANGEMENT FOR CARDING ENGINES Filed April 6, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. H Berber 2017/ Oct. 28, 1958 H. BERBERICH 2,857,627

I STRAND sucnou ARRANGEMENT FOR CARDING ENGINES Filed April 6, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 28, 1958 H. BERBERICH v 2,857,627

STRAND SUCTION ARRANGEMENT FOR CARDING ENGINES Filed April 6, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TOR.

-H erbepiclz/ United States Patent STRAND SUCTION ARRANGEMENT FOR CARDING ENGINES Helmut Berberich, Westheim, Germany, assignor to Thoma Company G. in. b. H., Augsburg, Germany This inventionrelates to a strand suction arrangement for carding engines. The only suction arrangements for carding engines hitherto known are those in which only the two marginal threads are extracted through individual suction nozzles. The fitting of a suction arrangement which extracts the good individual strands upon strand breakage was hitherto not possible because, on the one hand, the individual parts of the suction arrangement, in particular the suction pipes and collecting ducts, were very difficult to install on account of the restricted space in the rubbing mechanism and, on the other hand, the parts of the suction mechanism impede the movements of the spinner, for example, when cleaning the rubbing mechanism, leathers, catching and laying on the strands when strand breakage occurs, and also when restarting after the cleaning operation.

The invention provides a strand suction arrangement for carding engines which, without impeding servicing in any way, at the same time renders possible both the constant extraction of the marginal strands and also the extraction of all good individual strands when breakage of thread occurs.

- The suction arrangement according to the invention comprises horizontal suction pipes which are arranged beneath the rubbing leathers and which have upwardly inclined suction nozzles for all the individual strands, two vertical collecting ducts which are arranged on the respective sides of the rubbing mechanism and to which the suction pipes are connected in pairs, a fan which is preferably arranged on the rubbing mechanism and into the intake pipe of which the collecting ducts open, and a pressure pipe through which the extracted fibrous material is fed by the fan to the hopper.

Furthermore, according to the invention the suction .t,

pipes are connected in readily releasable manner to the collecting ducts, so that these may be quickly and conveniently removed for cleaning the rubbing mechanism and for adjusting the rubbing leathers.

The details of this novel thread extracting arrangement and the advantages thereof are hereinafter more fully explained with reference to one embodiment illustrated by way of example in the drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a carding engine with the suction extracting mechanism,

Figure 2 is a sectional view of a detail on the line II--II ofFigure 1,, v

Figure 3 is a view, on a larger scale, of the rubbing mechanism of Figure 1, with thesuction pipes and ducts and. also a fan,

-'Figure. 4 is a view looking in the direction A of Figure v Figures 5 and 6 represent cross-sections through suction nozzles,

Figure 7 is a perspective view of an end of a suction pipe, and

Figure 8 shows the fixing of a suction pipe.

exchanging the rubbing leathers, oiling the In the carding engine according to Figure 1, a hopper into which the fibrous material 2 is introduced in flock form is indicated at 1. By means of a conveyor belt 3 the material is fed to a weighing mechanism 4, from which it drops on to a conveyor belt 5 which feeds the fibrous flocks in the direction B to the breaker card, which is not shown. The carding engine consists, for example, of a breaker card, a main card (also notshown) and the finisher card which is shown in Figure 1 and which consists essentially of the drum 6, the taker-off 7, the web divider 8 and the rubbing mechanism 9 with the takeup rolls 10 for the rovings. The rubbingmechanism, the frame of which is indicated at 11, may be moved away from the carding assembly in the direction B for cleaning purposes and is adapted for this purpose to run on rollers 12.

As will be seen from Figures 3 and 4, the separate strips of web 13 are rolled by means of the rubbing leathers 14 into strands 15 (rovings), which are wound on to the rolls 10.

In accordance with the invention, suction pipes 16-19 are arranged underneath the rubbing leathers, said pipes comprising upwardly inclined suction nozzles 20 and 21 directed at an upward inclination. The two suction nozzles 21 serve for constantly extracting the marginal strands, while the suction nozzles 20 extract the good strands in the event of strand breakage. As .will be seen from the drawing, the suction pipes 16, 17 and 18, 19, respectively, are connected in pairs to vertical collecting ducts 22 and 23 arranged one at each side of the rubbing mechanism. It is advantageous to provide two collecting ducts 22 and 23 instead of a single collecting duct, so as to keep the cross-section of the collecting ducts 22 smaller or to enable these collecting ducts to be more easily installed in the frame 11 of the rubbing mechanism. The fan housing 25 is advantageously mounted on the frame 11 of the rubbing mechanism by means of a supporting bracket 24. The two collecting ducts 22 and 23 open into the intake pipe 26 of the fan housing. The fan 28, which is driven by an electric motor 27, draws the fibrous material in through the suction pipes and collecting ducts, the said material being torn into flocks and supplied through a pressure pipe 29 to a condenser 30 which is located above the hopper 1 and from which the extracted fibrous material drops directly into the latter.

A suction extraction device which is not shown in detail is advantageouslyalso provided on the fly roller 31 of the finisher card, the pressure pipe 32 of said device opening into the pressure pipe the fibrous material extracted from the fly roller is also simultaneously supplied by means of the same pressure pipe to the hopper.

As will be seen from the drawing, the servicing of the rubbing mechanism, for example oiling of the rubbing leathers 14, is not obstructed in any way, owing to the fact that the suction pipes the said rubbing leathers. Furthermore,. the arrange ment of the suction nozzles 20 substantially facilitates the collection of the strands, since the strand extracted by suction may be easily taken up and laid on. As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the suction nozzles 20 and 21, which are made of rubber or the like, are detachably connected to the suction pipes 1619 at 33. These resilient suction nozzles also exclude any danger to'the operator when collecting and laying on the strands, for example, due ,to his fingers being nipped between the rubbing leathers and the suction nozzles or pipes. The rubber suction nozzles 20 also prevent any damage to the rubbing leathers in the event of contact with the latter.

As shown in Figures 5 and 6, small cylindrical suction tubes 34 and 35 are fitted into the suction nozzles 21 29 leading to the hopper, so that 1619 are arranged belowand 20,-respectively, the said tubes each having a funnelshaped opening 36. The suction tubes 34 serve for extracting the marginal strands and the suction tubes 35 for extracting the good strands. Both suction tubes have the same dimensions and differ from one another merely by the fact that the tubes 35 are indented at 37 for restricting the suction opening. These suction tubes are preferablycoated with an enamel-hard, acid-resisting and impact-resisting varnish in order to prevent settling of softener material and dust.

As will be seen from the drawing, and more especially from Figures '3, 7 and 8, the suction pipes 1619 are flattened at 38 on the side carrying the suction nozzles and are urged by means of clamping elements against angular supports 39 which are arranged at both ends of thepipe and are fixed to parts 40 of the machine frame. These angular supports 39 are formed with longitudinal slots so .thatthey-are adjustable in the direction of the arrow C in order to permit accurate adjustment of the spacing of the suction nozzles from the rubbing leathers. Due to this flattening 38 of the suction pipes, the latter are held so that the suction nozzles assume a predetermined inclination.

As will be seen from the drawing the suction pipes are held by clamping bands 41 which are adjustably fixed at one end to the angular support 39 by means of a screw coupling 42, and a lever-operated fastener 43 is provided at the other end and -is hooked by means of an eye 44 on a hook 45 fixed on the angular support 39. After release of the two fastening devices 43 provided at the ends of the pipes and disengagement of the eyes 44 from the hooks 45, the suction pipe can be withdrawn forwardly in the direction D. In Figure 4, the clamping bands 41 which are provided on all the suction pipes are indicated only in connection with the suction pipe 16.

As shown in Figure 4, one of the ends of each suction pipe is pushed into a pipe socket 46 on the collecting duct 22 or 23 and is sealed by means of a packing ring 47 fixed to the pipe socket 46.

Openings 48 (Fig. 7), provided at the free ends of the suction pipes 16-49, are closed by flaps 49. When these flaps are opened, the suction at the extraction nozzles is substantially reduced and thus the application of the threads upon restarting (for example, after cleaning) is substantially facilitated.

The outlet pipe 50 (Figs. 1 and 3) of the fan housing is releasable and is so connected to the fixed pressure pipe 29 that it is withdrawn from the latter when the rubbing mechanism 9 is displaced in the direction B.

As will further be seen from Figures 1 and 2, the compressed air pipe 29 opens tangentially into the cylindrical condenser 30, the upper cylindrical area of which is formed as a perforated casing 51. A cylindrical core 52 is also provided in the condenser. This construction enables the air entering the condenser at high velocity (about metres per second) to escape through the perforated casing 51, the fibrous material being retained on the latter and then being able to drop into the hopper 1, the discharge velocity of the air in the direction E being greately reduced.

A considerable recovery of broken strands, in the region of 80%, is effected with the suction arrangement according to the invention since when breakage of strand occurs, the broken strand (roving) is immediately extracted by suction and is no longer able to drop down and thereby cause other breakages of strand or form double threads (coarse strands). Such double strands are therefore altogether avoided, which is a great advantage, more especially in hosiery and knitting mills, since the needle equipment is subjected to more gentle treatment and the result is a better final product. The

reduced strand breakages also result in an important recovery of Waste in the carding and also on the ring spinning frame.

The tubular formations which formerly occurred and which were caused, for example, by the broken strands wrapping several times around the rubbing leathers, are completely eliminated, so that the rubbing leathers are protected from damage and their effective life is increased.

I claim:

l. A carding engine comprising a hopper, a movable frame, rubber leathers carried by the frame, a thread suction means arranged beneath said leathers, said suction means comprising horizontally disposed suction pipes, separate upwardly inclined suction nozzles for the individual stands mounted on said suction pipes, two vertical collecting ducts arranged laterally on said frame, means connecting the suction pipes to said collecting ducts, a motor driven fan mounted at the top of the frame, an intake pipe for the fan with which said collecting ducts communicate, a stationary compressed air pipe for feeding extracted fibrous material from the fan to'the hopper, an outlet conduit for the fan, and a releaseable connection means between the compressed air pipe and the outlet conduit serving to allow said air pipe and outlet conduit to be disconnected when the frame is moved away from the engine.

2. In a carding engine as set forth in claim 1, means connecting said suction pipes in a readily releasable manner to said collecting ducts.

3. In a carding engine as set forth in claim 2, pipe sockets on said collecting ducts for the insertion of the ends of said suction pipes, a ring packing on each of said sockets, and quick-acting clamping devices on the ends of each of said suction pipes for securing the latter in position.

4. In a carding engine as set forth in claim 3, suction pipes which are flattened on the side carrying the suction.

nozzles, and adjustable angular supports against which said flattened sides of the suction pipes are pressed by said clamping devices.

5. In a carding engine as set forth in claim 1, flaps on the free ends of said suction ,pipes, said flaps being capable of being opened and closed manually.

6. In a carding engine as set forth in claim 1, suction nozzles made from resilient material, and small metal suction tubes fitted in said nozzles.

7. In a carding engine as set forth in claim 6, small cylindrical suction tubes of the same dimensions for the marginal strands and the good strands, said tubes having funnel-shaped openings, and the openings of the tubes for the good strands being reduced in cross-section by indentation.

8. In a carding engine as set forth in claim 1, the arrangement in which said compressed air pipe opens tangentially into a cylindrical condenser arranged above said hopper, the upper cylindrical part of said condenser being formed as a perforated screen.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 467,888 Craggy Jan. 26, 1892 749,300 Kemp Jan. 12, 1904 1,104,881 Ezell et al. July 28, 1914 2,522,250 Bechtler Sept. 12, 1950. 2,608,724 Bastin Sept. 2, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 910 Great Britain of 1853 214,994 Germany Oct. 23, 1919 242,344 Great Britain Nov. 6, 1925 

